Stock By The Dollar

When should I start investing?

Cheat Sheet:

Start as early as you possibly can

Invest for the long haul

Don’t wait until you can afford whole shares. Fractional shares make it easy to start with only a few dollars.

You’ve heard the saying, “Buy low, sell high,” right? People on Wall Street would love to be able to say, “I’ll buy this stock today because it’s going up tomorrow.” Unfortunately, that crystal ball doesn’t exist. No one can time the market, so don’t bother trying!

What you can do is start early and invest for the long haul. This way:

Your money has more time to grow

You have more time to ride out the dips

You’ll increase your odds of buying low and selling high

Waiting a year to start investing means missing out on a year of market growth, which has averaged 9.8% a year historically. Starting as early as you can significantly increases the odds of doing well in the stock market.

Until recently, though, starting early was easier said than done. In the old days, you had to wait until you saved up enough money — usually thousands of dollars — just to open a brokerage account. It’s a lot easier these days, especially if you invest through a fractional shares brokerage company like Stockpile. You can start anytime with even a few dollars!